Posts

Okay, so I’ve been a little absent this week. Some of it is for personal reasons, and some is because… well… its hard to get motivation after a loss. Either way I should know better. I should know that one loss in the first game of the season doesn’t mean shut everything down. It doesn’t mean we don’t still have a excellent chance to go all the way and it doesn’t mean we don’t have a great team.

At the beginning of the week someone tried to tell me that the defense didn’t look very hot. I stopped him mid-sentence… Are you freaking kidding me? That defense looked great. They kept us in the game until the very end. While holding Washington to only two field goals isn’t a feat of genius it still is pretty damn good in a rivalry game such as Cowboys at Redskins.

Either way, I felt that a few underrated defensive stars really deserved some love. Due to my absence this week, I’m playing catch up and releasing five graphics for Cowboy fans to enjoy.

–Miles Austin is a GREAT receiver. He is elite. Period. Dez Bryant will make this offense unstoppable when he finally starts opposite Austin.

-2009 Ball State 3rd round pick Robert Brewster is still a year away from being an NFL caliber OT or G. Missing his rookie year due to injury, he just doesn’t have “it” yet. I would release him on the final cuts and try to get him back on the practice squad. If not, oh well. We need solid backups to survive this Super Bowl run.

-The tight end situation is terrible. It went from a strength on the team to a worry with John Phillips tearing his ACL. Although, if Sicko progresses this year, it gives us an out with Martellus Bennett should he continue his mundane play.

–Alex Barron needs coaching. Hudson Houck must change this guy’s bad habits or he will be a one and done as a Cowboy. You don’t pay good money for Pat McQuistan production.

-No way do you cut Deon Anderson. If you want Chris Gronkowski on the final 53, you must deplete another position’s depth and keep two fullbacks. Deon has been a fantastic blocker and a surprise threat out of the backfield as a receiver.

–David Buehler is doing a good job. Kickoffs, as usual, have been stellar. Touchback after touchback. Field goals have been good enough to keep believing in him. I love that he is working with Chris Boniol.

–Jon Kitna will be a solid backup should we, God forbid, need him to hold the fort for a few games.

-The linebackers on this team are off the hook. Our starters dominate. Bradie James and Keith Brooking will be the vocal leaders on this very strong defense. There are surprises such as Leon Williams that will make the final cuts a very hard job.

-Too much is being made of win/loss, Redzone failures and other trivial statistics in the preseason.

-5 preseason games could make you a tired team in January.

–Wade Phillips is awesome. His defense rocks and he has survived the headhunters of Dallas (media) through hell and back.

It was asked on NFLN recently which rookies would have the biggest question mark going into the 2010 season. Jamie Dukes said it would be Cowboys rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant.

“When it comes to fanfare and scrutiny no one is more scrutinized than Dallas Cowboy football players. Can he handle being a Cowboy? Can he stay out of the clubs? Can he handle the fame and fortune of being a Dallas Cowboy? That’s the big concern. The (No. 88 jersey) puts a target on your back as well. I question whether or not he can handle the success of being one of those Dallas Cowboys”

Warren Sapp also of the NFLN added…

“I think Dez Bryant is going to have growing pains in Dallas,”

It seems to me, and this is my opinion of course, that certain people on the NFLN love to hate the Cowboys no matter what is happening. Or maybe I’m just too sensitive to the subject. Why is Dez Bryant the biggest question mark when so many other players on other teams are getting into trouble?

Happy Birthday Miles

As reported by DallasNews.com, Kim Kardashian threw new boyfriend Miles Austin a party to celebrate his 27thbirthday. Sister Kourtney Kardashian was also in attendance.

Isn’t it funny how nothing negative is reported with Miles Austin dating Kim Kardashian, but anyone that Tony Romo dates draws all kinds of negative headlines. Things should be exciting if these two are together on Thanksgiving when Reggie Bush and the Saints come to town.

Best Current Cowboys

As Kelly reported the other day, DallasNews.com has put together a bracket to see who the best current Dallas Cowboy is. They matched certain current Cowboys together and let the fans vote on a different match-up every day. The first match-up was between Marion Barber and Felix Jones.

Jones won easily over Barber 82.5% to 17.5%

I will admit I voted for Barber.

The second match-up had DeMarcus Ware beating Keith Brooking 94.09% to 5.91%

As much as fans love what Brooking brings to the team, there was no way he was beating Ware.

In today’s match-up it’s Jay Ratliff against Gerald Sensabaugh. As of this morning Ratliff leads Sensabaugh 96% to 4%.

No big surprise there.

Injury Update

Some injury news reported by ESPNDallas.com as we are now three weeks away from training camp opening.

Cornerback Orlando Scandrick who broke his index finger during the teams OTA’s says he will wear a splint on his broken finger once the regular season starts. Scandrick says he will be ready once training camp opens even with a splint on his finger.

Linebacker Stephen Hodge who had microfracture surgery says he is hopeful he can return for training camp. Hodge did do some light training on the side during the teams OTA’s.

Linebacker Keith Brooking who had off-season knee surgery will be ready for training camp. Brooking came back towards the end of the teams OTA’s and said he will be ready to go when training camp opens.

Air Coryell Connection

Cowboy’s offensive coordinator Jason Garrett actually uses a large portion of Don Coryell’s offense in the Cowboys attack. Garrett learned from former Cowboys offensive coordinator Norv Turner who coached Garrett as a player in the early 90’s. Turner learned the offense from Ernie Zampese when both were coaches with the LA Rams.

Goodbye Don Coryell

Don Coryell passed away yesterday at the age of 85. He coached the San Diego Chargers from 1978 to 1986. He brought the Chargers to the AFC Championship game in 1980 and 1981, but lost both times. He was involved in what many consider the best game ever played in 1981 when the Chargers beat the Dolphins in overtime 41-38 in the divisional round of the playoffs. The following week they would lose to the Bengals in minus 59 degree weather with the wind in Cincinnati.

“We’ve lost a man who has contributed to the game of pro football in a very lasting way with his innovations and with his style,” Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Fouts, the quarterback who made Air Coryell fly, said from Oregon. “They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery — look around, it’s there.”

Don Coryell coached some great offensive players in San Diego like Dan Fouts, Kellen Winslow, Charlie Joyner, Wes Chandler, John Jefferson and Chuck Muncie. Coryell compiled a 111-83-1 record in 14 seasons in the NFL.

Rookie Dez Bryant was sidelined once again at OTAs, this time due to tightness in his left hamstring.

According to Nick Eatman’s blog at dallascowboys.com:

Since being drafted in late April, Bryant has experienced minor ankle and hip injuries, missed an entire day of OTA practice and meetings with a stomach virus and now the hamstring has kept him out for two practices.

Bryant says its not frustrating, and I’m not sure its time to worry about minor injuries, but it certainly makes one wonder.

***

It was uncovered by running back coach Skip Peete that Marion Barber played last season with a torn left quad. The injury occurred in Week 2 last season and Barber only missed one game.

***

Keith Brooking could return to practice as soon as Thursday after being held out because of offseason arthroscopic knee surgery.

***

Patrick Crayton returned to OTAs yesterday. He agent says Crayton is looking to compete and doesn’t want to be a distraction, its rather hard to do that if you aren’t with the team on the field.

His teammates were happy to see him back with the team.

Kevin Ogletree: “There is a lot more wisdom out there. He has been around a long time. He is just more help for the young guys and more leadership. He is a good player, so obviously we missed him and it’s just good to see him back out there.”

Roy Williams: “He’s not the flashy guy. He is just a guy that comes in and gets the job done. I call him Mr. Consistency. He just plays the same way every time.”

Dez Bryant: “He is a vet. It is nice to have a guy like that. Not only him, but Roy (Williams) and Miles (Austin), who have been through everything. Younger guys (like me) want that. They need someone to follow and it’s great that they are all here.”

***

Training Camp will be split this year between Texas and California. This is great news for our friends on the West Coast who will get a chance to see America’s Team live in action getting ready for the upcoming season.

Dallas hasn’t officially starting the training camp, but voluntary OTAs (Organized Team Activities) are going on, and mini-camp will be coming along.

For starters, we have a serious injury to second-string cornerback, Orlando Scandrick, who “shattered” his finger on the 26th of May. The injury is indefinite for now. Scandrick believes he isn’t going to be catching balls until training camp starts in late July.

He was breaking up a pass intended for wide receiver Manuel Johnson, a seventh round pick from last year, and his hand immediately went numb, but it was a while later before he truly realized how serious the injury was. He had surgery soon after and the pin that was inserted into finger isn’t going to be taken out for a while.

There has been no news about Keith Brooking’s knee surgery, which probably means that his rehab is going according to schedule. He’ll be needed this past season with his amazing leadership and hard tackles.

Roy Williams has stated that he and Tony Romo are now connecting very well, are on the same page, and even made a comparison that I felt wasn’t the most strategic move to Joe Montana and Jerry Rice.

That aside, the Cowboys are doing well at workouts. Marion Barber has actually lost ten pounds, bringing his weight down to the 212-215 range in order to gain some speed on the ground. He’s still strong as an ox, but Barber knows that speed is difference in the open field between a 15 yard gain and a 25 yard gain.

Barber is not going to be the starting running back, that privilege has been awarded to Felix Jones now, but Barber is a team player and will try his hardest whenever he gets his carries, so this news is very encouraging.

Dez Bryant has been on fire lately according to most viewer reports. Bryant, the controversial Oklahoma State receiver, was drafted by Dallas because in 1998, the Cowboys passed on another similar receiver named Randy Moss.

Those who don’t know who Randy Moss is just need to watch the highlight films of the 2007 Patriots. Moss accounted for 23 of Tom Brady’s touchdown passes that year.

In fact, Moss had the greatest rookie season a wide receiver has ever had. He had 17 touchdowns, 69 receptions, and 1313 yards; just an unstoppable player.

Dez Bryant is probably hoping to do the same for us. While that is asking a lot of the young man, I’d be thrilled if he did do it. That could be the finishing move for Dallas to win in the playoffs and go to the Super Bowl.

The team is taking a “best player” approach to every position, including quarterback. It doesn’t matter how long you have been the starter, if you are outplayed then you don’t start. It makes the players play better knowing that they have challenges for their jobs.

Linebacker Jason Williams, a third round pick from last year, is very psyched about the opportunity to be the nickel linebacker. The nickel linebacker is the guy who usually comes in on third down when it is an obvious passing down, and the linebacker from first and second down come out to stay fresh.

Since the Cowboys have traded Bobby Carpenter to the St. Louis Rams, they now have an opening at the nickel linebacker, and challenging Williams will be first and foremost, Sean Lee, the rookie linebacker drafted by Dallas in the second round this past draft.

I can’t say for sure who will win in these competitions. I wish I was in Dallas instead of my tiny town in Texas, but I’m sure that the Cowboys are going to take the right steps, and we can only hope that there isn’t a sudden outbreak of injuries on the team. That would be a real problem.

This post was originally posted at: http://www.mtrmedia.com/cowboys/2010/06/dallas-cowboys-offseason-workout-report-1.html

In the past few weeks, there has been a good deal of activity involving the Dallas Cowboys.

The first item of business is that Dallas traded inside linebacker Bobby Carpenter to the St. Louis Rams for offensive tackle Alex Barron.

Now, Bobby Carpenter is the only high draft pick made in the Bill Parcells era that truly was disappointing. He was a highly admired linebacker out of Ohio State, which is one of the premier college football programs.

Yet, in the four years he was here, he never was good enough for the coaches to give him the starting job. Some fans might say that Dallas never gave him a chance, but I disagree. You don’t draft a guy in the first round and not give him a chance. He had plenty of chances in preseason, in training camp, or in games where he had playing time.

There were questions about him being aggressive enough when playing. I can’t explain why he didn’t turn out to be a great player, but things like that happen.

I knew he was on his way out when Dallas drafted Penn State linebacker Sean Lee in the second round of the 2010 draft this past April.

Carpenter will get a chance to revive his career in St. Louis, while Dallas gets key offensive line depth.

I have every confidence in our offensive line, but the fact remains that if you don’t have a backup plan in the NFL, you are risking your team’s future.

The Dallas starters from left to right are: Doug Free at left tackle, Kyle Kosier at left guard, Andre Gurode at center, Leonard Davis at right guard, and Marc Columbo at right tackle.

However, our backups in Cory Proctor, Pat McQuistan, and Robert Brewster are either weak replacements or in Brewster’s case, unproven.

Dallas cut Flozell Adams this offseason due to his age, and the impact his salary would have this year. They have given Doug Free the chance to start at left tackle, but Jerry Jones, while he is a gambler at times, isn’t stupid.

Jones drafted offensive tackle Sam Young in the sixth round this past draft from Notre Dame, and completed the Carpenter trade for Alex Barron.

Barron was a first round draft pick for the Rams in 2005, one spot before Dallas’ Marcus Spears as a matter of fact, and he’s been solid. He has started in 74 out of 76 games he’s played in, and hasn’t been injured.

He’s 6-7, around 320, and tough. The problem he had last year was he was worse than our own Flozell Adams at false start penalties. He’s had 43 false start penalties in the pros. That is 215 total yards lost because this guy is moving before the ball is snapped.

Now, there may be some instances where a defensive lineman actually encroaches and Barron is wrongfully flagged, but not 43 times.

Still, Dallas is giving him a chance, and Barron has promised to stop the false starts. I don’t know if he’ll start. I doubt it unless he really shows up to training camp and just dominates the line of scrimmage because Free has earned his shot really, and I think Jerry Jones just wants to address depth.

In the end, I think the trade is a win for Dallas because even with his mistakes, I’d rather have Barron than the depth we have now starting in case a lineman gets hurt, and Bobby Carpenter was just going to waste away here.

As any Cowboys fan knows, the dog days of offseason are long and boring. Nearly every day you seek any news or rumors about your team and rarely come up with anything. Today I spent time with family and had a lazy day and what do you know, the Cowboys go and make a little rumble.

I know at least a handful of people who will be happy to hear this news…

The Cowboys have released Cory Procter. The 27-year old backup offensive lineman has been with in Dallas since 2005, though didn’t debut in the NFL until 2007. He only started in 13 career games, 11 of those in 2008 while filling in for the injured Kyle Kosier. How dare they break up the band, eh, who needs offensive line depth anyway?

In other news, Sam Hurd and Patrick Crayton both missed OTAs on Monday. Hurd was on scene but out while recovering from offseason thumb surgery. Crayton is still demanding a trade, but no one seems to be interested. Have you Hurd Crayton wants out of the big D?

Marcus Spears also missed the practice because of a scheduling conflict according to several sources. Whatever that means?

Keith Brooking, Stephen Hodge and Akwasi Owusu-Ansah are all recovering from surgeries while Sean Lissemore and Scott Sicko are finishing up at college. Yes, okay they are excusable.

These workouts are voluntary but Coach Phillips made a good point saying… “Your competitors at your position are all here.” Okay so he’s no philosopher but you understand what he’s saying.

You can argue either way, veterans can miss the practices because they know the drills but at the same time the new guys, younger guys are there practicing, busting ass to steal your place on the roster. Practice makes perfect!

The last thing I want to do is wish summer away before it even gets here, but the Hall of Fame Game between the Cowboys and Bengals is less than three months away. It’s not so much the game I’m excited for, it’s the excitement of seeing Emmitt Smith going into the HOF. Emmitt Smith is my all-time favorite player and I’m going to enjoy watching him enter the Hall. There’s going to be lot of tears on that stage because that is how Emmitt Smith is. He is every emotional about things. One of my favorite things to watch is the moment Emmitt Smith and Daryl Johnston shared on the sidelines after Smith broke the NFL rushing record in 2002.

As reported by ESPNDallas.com, Emmitt Smith has chosen Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to be his presenter on August 7th. If Emmitt Smith’s speech is anything like Michael Irvin’s then there won’t be a dry eye in the house. There will be more about Emmitt in the coming months because he deserves all the praise in the world for being the best running back of all time.

Doug Free

The Cowboys new left tackle Doug Free is ready for whatever is thrown his way as the OTA’s begin next week. Especially since the Cowboys traded for Alex Barron this week. What makes players better is competition and Free knows that. Free replaced right tackle Marc Colombo last season for ten games and played very well, but all the so-called experts remember is how Free played in the playoff loss to the Vikings. I tend look at the overall picture and not just the one game. I do not believe that all season the Cowboys offensive line played well and then because of one game they all of sudden became a bad line. Let’s face it, the Cowboys ran into a better team that day in Minnesota. Whatever they tried to do didn’t work and things just kept getting worse for them as the game went on. If anyone remembers the move “The Replacements”, the quote from Keanu Reeves sums up the Vikings game very well for the Cowboys.

“You’re playing and you think everything is going fine. Then one thing goes wrong (Adams getting hurt). And then another. And another. You try to fight back, but the harder you fight, the deeper you sink. Until you can’t move… you can’t breathe… because you’re in over your head. Like quicksand”

Now Doug Free will move from the right side to the left side and he is ready for the competition that he will be facing as reported on ESPNDallas.com.

“I got a lot of hard work to put in and I’m obviously excited,” Free said. “Last year, getting a chance to play and I think playing pretty well, most people thought stuff like that, they definitely have some faith in me. It’s the other side of the ball [going from right to left], but I think I’ve proven that I can play.”

“The more people we got in the better, the better the competition, the better the offensive line,” Free said. “Like last year, with Marc going down, the more confidence you have, the better it is for your team.”

“Until you get out on the field and in a game situation in the regular season, you really don’t know what you’re getting into,” Free said. “So, getting out there [with] a chance to play was definitely an advantage for me. I couldn’t be more excited. Nobody plays to sit the bench, nobody plays to watch the games, everybody plays. They are working hard to play.”

Keith Brooking

Keith Brooking underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee three weeks ago, but should be ready for training camp come July as reported by ESPNDallas.com. The Cowboys know what Brooking can do and what a leader he has become for the defense, so I wouldn’t think they are worried about him missing the teams OTA’s. This will give the rookies and other young players like Sean Lee and Jason Williams a chance to show their stuff.

Roy Williams

Roy Williams has been saying all the right things when it comes to Dez Bryant and what he will add to the Cowboys offense. Let’s face it, Bryant is the Cowboys future and maybe the competition will do Williams some good after a not so good 2009 season. Williams announced that his dropped passes will be a thing of the past this season. He dropped eight passes in 2009 (Why did it feel like he dropped a lot more than that?). If Williams turns into the receiver that he believes he is and what the Cowboys believe he is, then it will just make things better for the entire offense.

“I bet anybody in this world I won’t be close to that [in 2010],” said Williams about his dropped passes in 2009

Preseason

In another month what will all the preseason magazines say about the Cowboys in 2010? Will they be Super Bowl favorites? Will they be a struggling team in the NFC East in 2010 because of all the changes in Washington or because the Giants are back? All I know is that the Cowboys have put themselves in great position to challenge for a home game in Super Bowl XLV.

As we are all aware of, our Cowboys season ended today at the Metrodome in Minnesota. The Cowboys offense could not get anything going today. The offensive line broke down, they lost Flozell Adams early in the game and the they had to play catch-up all day. The defense played well for the most part, but they could not hold up for the whole game.

It was a nice run from our Cowboys who were projected as an 8-8 third place team in 2009. What we got was a team that grew together during the season and won a division championship. They beat the Eagles three times and knocked off the undefeated Saints when no one thought they had a chance. They won in December when no one thought they could. They won a playoff game when no one thought they would.

Am I upset at the loss? Not really. Disappointed? Oh yea!! All week we heard how the Vikings offensive linemen would not be able to hold up against the Cowboys defensive line. When in fact it was the other way around today. The Vikings rush was relentless and Tony Romo was running for his life all day. The Cowboys got beat by the better team today. I can’t get upset over that.

So it’s on to the off-season. Let’s hope this playoff loss is a building block for this team to improve themselves in all areas and get better for next season. Get better with the draft and maybe add one or two players in free agency. I can’t help but think back to 1991 when the Cowboys went to Detroit and lost 38-6 in the second round of the playoffs. That game vaulted the Cowboys into winning three of the next four Super Bowls.

My Offensive MVP goes to Tony Romo for improving and not letting the media run his life and Miles Austin for becoming one of the best young receivers in the NFL.

My Defensive MVP goes to Keith Brooking for making the defense one of the best in the NFL and Mike Jenkins for having a great second season and leading the team with five interceptions.

Congratulations to the defending NFC Eastern Division Champion Dallas Cowboys on a great season.

http://lonestarstruck.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/posts5.png180397Robert Vetranohttp://lonestarstruck.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/lonestarstruck.pngRobert Vetrano2010-01-17 16:18:142010-01-17 16:18:14All Good Things Must Come to an End

Tony Romo is just 39 passing yards away from setting a new career high total passing yards per season which he set in 2007 with 4,211 yards. Romo currently has thrown just 8 interceptions. His career best came in 2006 when he threw just 13 interceptions. Another big season from the big guy!

With 1,230 receiving yards going into Sundays finale, Miles Austin has already surpassed Terrell Owens mark of 1,052 receiving yards last season. Remarkably, Austin needs just 126 yards to smash Owens’ best season with the Cowboys in 2007 when he tallied 1,355 yards. Go Miles!

Jason Witten is just 46 yards away from the second 1,000 yard season of his career. He has not fumbled the football since 2007 and has just one fumble in the last five seasons. Wow…

With seven touchdowns this season, Roy Williams needs just one touchdown to match his career high which he set back in his rookie season in 2004.

With two touchdown catches on Sunday, the Miles Austin – Roy Williams combination would have 20 on the season and become just the third Cowboys wide receiver tandem to combine for that many in a season. Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton hold the team record with 22 in 2007. Frank Clarke and Bill Howton combined for 20 in 1962.

Running back Felix Jones currently leads the NFL in rushing yards per attempt with a 5.9 average. He has a small advantage over Tennessee’s Chris Johnson who has a 5.8 average. This one will go down to the wire. Run Felix Run!

Patrick Crayton currently sports an impressive 12.9 yards per return average on punts, easily surpassing his previous high of 9.5 which he set last season. He has also brought two of those returns back for touchdowns, the first and second of his career. He has also been a team player who quietly went about doing his job after being replaced by Miles Austin as the number two receiver. Good Guy Award!

On a side note, do you remember little Danny Amendola? Now with St. Louis, Amendola currently leads the NFL in kick returns with 61 and return yardage with 1,507 yards. I had a feeling we hadn’t heard the last of Amendola.

Bradie James needs just five tackles to set a new career high with 81 tackles to surpass last season’s total of 80. Who loves them some Bradie?

Keith Brooking needs just one more sack to set a new career high with four. The Falcons parted company with Brooking after registering no sacks last season. Their loss, our gain. He also has seven pass deflections this season, more than his previous two seasons combined. With 75 tackles already this season, he has tallied 70 or more tackles for nine straight seasons. Nicely done.

Keith Brooking has shown all season long why Wade Phillips wanted him on the team. He has become the leader of the defense. Brooking is a true professional and tells it like it is. He let loose on his weekly TV show which is hosted by Steve Dennis. The subject came up about the Cowboys failures in December going back the last few seasons. I guess Brooking just couldn’t take it anymore and let loose.

http://lonestarstruck.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/posts3.png180397Robert Vetranohttp://lonestarstruck.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/lonestarstruck.pngRobert Vetrano2009-12-09 22:01:572009-12-09 22:01:57Brooking Tells It Like It Is

For the most part it was one ugly game. But there were some worthy contributions that stood out among the disgust that most of us felt until the last drive of the game. With that said I present you the game balls of week 11.

This week’s offensive game ball goes to Marion Barber.

All week we heard about Jerry Jones wanting to give Felix Jones more carries. However, it was Marion Barber who delivered. It was almost as if he had something to prove.

Barber rushed 20 times for 99 yards in addition had one reception for 8 yards.

We enjoyed seeing the beast come out in you MB3, keep up the good work!

This week’s defensive/special teams game ball goes to Keith Brooking.

Keith Brooking has been simply amazing. Week in and week out he is out there on the field giving 110%. You can even spot him on the sidelines giving pep talks and cheering on his teammates. Oh where have you been all our football lives Keith?